Bridging the gap: vaccine uptake and intent to vaccinate among GBMSM during the 2022-2023 mpox outbreak in Spain.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of mpox vaccine uptake and its associated factors among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Spain, and to examine, among those who were not vaccinated, their intention to receive the vaccine and the factors linked to that intention.

METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Spanish subsample of the LIBERO-POX study (October 2022-March 2023), an online survey of adult people identifying as GBMSM in 10 Ibero-American countries participating in LIBERO-POX. We estimated mpox vaccine uptake and likelihood of vaccination among the unvaccinated, and analysed sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioural factors using Poisson regression with robust variance.

RESULTS

Among 548 participants, 38.0% reported mpox vaccination. Of 338 unvaccinated individuals, 91.7% expressed high likelihood to vaccinate. Uptake was associated with being aged 30-49, living in larger municipalities, receiving information from health professionals, PrEP use, HIV status, and having more than 10 sexual partners in the last 6 months. High likelihood was instead linked to psychosocial perceptions, such as concern about mpox and perceived severity.

CONCLUSIONS

A gap exists between vaccination intention and uptake among GBMSM in Spain. Bridging this gap requires public health strategies that combine trusted, non-stigmatizing communication with measures addressing barriers to access (territorial disparities, limited sexual health services, and stigma), to achieve equitable vaccine coverage.